The present invention is directed to a stackable non-spillable drinking container which includes the inventive concepts disclosed in the parent application and further provides the important advantages of stackability and reduced manufacturing cost.
In the past there had been a need for an effective non-spillable drinking container. There are many applications where such a drinking container would be extremely desirable. Applications include anywhere where there is a need to prevent spills of fluids being drunk, such as soda pop or juice, and there is some increased reason for the likelihood of spillage. For example, soda pop dispensed in movie theaters in drinking cups often results in the spillage by children of some or all of the soda pop on the floor, carpeted aisles, or even the seats, especially during the drinking process. Even with respect to adults, very often the adults will discard the cup of soda on the floor before the cup is completely empty. Unfortunately, the cup is often kicked or bumped over by a patron or otherwise upset before it is removed by the cleaning personnel at the end of the day. This results in a sticky mess on the floor of the theater which involves additional costs in cleaning, and is further likely to reduce the life of items such as carpeting and seat coverings.
Additionally, such a non-spillable drinking container is highly desirable in other applications where there is an increased probability of spillage during drinking, such as in hospitals and nursing homes with debilitated patients and in moving vehicles such as airplanes, boats, ships, trains and automobiles.
In many applications, it is highly desirable for the non-spillable drinking container to be disposable. In other words, once it is used by a movie theater patron or a hospital patient, it may be discarded, there being no intent to retrieve the containers, clean them and reuse them. However, in order for a drinking container to be disposable, it is desirable to keep the cost of manufacture of the container as low as possible. Furthermore, it is highly desirable that a drinking container be stackable to reduce the cost of shipment and storage of the large number of containers which may be utilized where a container is disposable after use.
A non-spillable liquid drinking container is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,948,453-Drown. Drown discloses a capable cup in which a perforated straw is spring mounted within a cylindrical tube within the cup. Downward pressure on the straw forces a portion of the straw out of the cylindrical tube to enable flow of liquid through the straw.
The prior art does not disclose a non-spillable drinking container which does not allow spillage even should it be dropped to the floor in a turned down manner. The non-spillable liquid drinking container disclosed in the Drown patent has a removable top and furthermore, if it hit the floor in an upside down manner, the drinking straw would be forced against the spring allowing flow out through the straw. In accordance with the present invention, there is no need to exercise any manual control and the non-spillable drinking container of the present invention automatically provides a non-spill function.